3 Apr 2007
Owens Corning Single End Roving is Central to a New Composite Power Pole Designed for Electrical Distribution Networks in Brazil
JEC Construction Forum Presentation on Wednesday, April 4th to Showcase Innovative Product Offering Longer Working Life, Enhanced Performance, Very Low Maintenance and Lower Total Cost to Install and Operate
Paris, France – April 3, 2007 – At the annual JEC Composites Show, Owens Corning (NYSE: OC), a world leader in composites solutions, will showcase an innovative Composite Power Pole at the Construction Forum* on Wednesday, April 4th led by Márcio Nieble, Owens Corning Marketing and Business Development Manager Latin America.
Developed to provide Brazil’s electrical power distribution sector with a resource and cost- saving solution, the new pole is based on the continuous filament winding process using OC® Single End Roving – Type 30® SE1200 in combination with polyester resin and was selected by Petrofisa do Brasil as the reinforcement for its product.
The Composite Power Pole, which is manufactured by Petrofisa, a highly experienced producer of PRFV and RPVC pipes, provides a lighter weight, more durable, corrosion and weather resistant solution for carrying overhead wires distributing mains electricity to consumers in both urban and rural areas.
Fiberglass composites provide a superior solution for power poles compared to other materials, such as wood and concrete, currently used for these structures. For example:
“Petrofisa’s Composite Power Pole is relatively new to the national market,” explained Márcio Nieble, “but it has already attracted widespread interest and been taken up by energy generator and distributor Companhia Paranaense de Energia, Copel. Copel is installing the power pole in parts of its electrical distribution network serving the State of Paraná and is already seeing benefits from using this new technology. As a major energy provider serving more than 3 million domestic, industrial and commercial consumers, Copel represents an important product launch-customer for Petrofisa,” said Nieble.
Other energy companies too have indicated their intention to begin the qualifying process in adopting the new power pole. This reflects the growing trend in the Latin American energy sector to modernize infrastructure and reap the benefits of higher performance and lower costs. Petrofisa developed the Composite Power Pole specifically to target those transition needs. The company estimates that in South America alone the market for composite poles to replace traditional structures could be in the order of 100,000 units a year.
An additional benefit the power pole delivers to the community is that in the event of cars colliding with them, the superior energy absorption properties of composites can significantly reduce the incidence of driver and passenger fatalities and of critical physical damage being sustained. This valuable safety benefit has also caught the attention of authorities in other countries. Among them, the United Kingdom is considering the composite pole application precisely because of its potential to minimize the number of deaths caused by vehicle collisions with fixed utility structures.
Developed specifically for the production of high strength, hollow, cylindrical structures such as pipes, storage tanks and pressure vessels for the infrastructure and industrial markets, OC® Type 30® SE1200 offered the best balance of performance and cost for the power poles application. This product’s key attributes include:
The combination of high value properties offered by the composite power pole, based on OC® Type 30® SE1200 and polyester resin, results in a cost effective product with a lower total cost in its acquisition, installation and network management and maintenance, allied to improved technical and operational benefits.
The JEC Composites Show (April 3-5) is known as the global venue for the introduction of new technologies in composites and is held annually at the Expo Porte de Versailles, Paris, France. Owens Corning is exhibiting in Hall 1 Booth Q30.
Notes for editors
Owens Corning (NYSE: OC) is a world leader in building materials systems and composite solutions. A Fortune 500 company for more than 50 years, Owens Corning people redefine what is possible each day to deliver high-quality products and services ranging from insulation, roofing, siding and manufactured stone veneer, to glass composite materials used in transportation, electronics, telecommunications and other high-performance applications. Founded in 1938, Owens Corning is a market-leading innovator of glass fiber technology with sales of $6.5 billion in 2006 and 19,000 employees in 26 countries. Additional information is available at www.owenscorning.com .
